Method and apparatus for completing and servicing wells



May 31, 1960 e. H. TAUSCH ET AL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COMPLETING AND SERVICING WELLS Filed Aug. 6, 1956 IN V EN TORS Gilbert H. Tausc/l,

John W Kenneday,

United States Patent METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR COMPLETING AND SERVICING WELLS Gilbert H. Tausch and John W. Kenneday, Houston, Tex., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Jersey Production Research Company, Tulsa, Okla, a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 6, 1956, Ser. No. 602,246

9 Claims. (Cl. 166-45) The present invention is directed to apparatus for completing and servicing a well. More particularly, the invention is concerned with apparatus for completing a well in a plurality of subsurface earth strata. In its more specific aspects, the invention is concerned with apparatus for completing and servicing a well without employment of tubing strings in well casings.

The present invention may be briefly described as apparatus for completing and servicing a well penetrating a plurality of productive subsurface earth strata. The apparatus comprises first and second substantially parallel pipe strings arranged in the well in side by side relationship, the pipe strings being co-extensive substantially throughout their lengths and having separate substantially parallel longitudinal axes. The pipe strings are interconnected intermediate their ends to provide a fluid passageway between the pipe strings. Each of the pipe strings is provided with a supporting means, such as a landing nipple, extension hanger, and the like, which is preferably arranged above the fluid passageway. This supporting means is adapted to support a flow directing means, such as an elongated tubular member, retrievably arranged on the supporting means and which is open at both ends and sealed in the pipe string in which it is arranged. A description of the landing nipple will be found in the Composite Catalog of Oil Field and Pipeline Equipment, 19th Edition, 1952-53, vol. 2, page 4064.

. The apparatus of the present invention also includes a track member arranged in each of the separate pipe strings throughout the length of the pipe string where it penecrates the productive subsurface strata, intervals, zones, sands, formations, horizons and the like. This track member allows a perforator to be positioned therein such that on operating the perforator only the pipe string in which the perforator is arranged is penetrated without damaging the other pipe string. The perforator may suitably be a bullet gun perforator or a shaped charge perforator or suitably may be a mechanical or chemical perforator.

, The track member employed in the present invention may require the employment of a guide means which is arranged immediately above the track member for placing the perforator on the track. A suitable guide means and suitable equipment for provision of the perforator on the track member are described in copending application Serial No. 454,342, filed September 7, 1954, for Walter J. Bielstein, now US. Patent No. 2,781,098.

The present invention also contemplates that either one of the pipe strings may be closed Ofi by a suitable closure member which may be a retrievable plug member which may suitably be arranged in the pipe below the fluid passageway to allow servicing and sealing perforations in one of the pipe strings.

The present invention is of considerable advantage and utility in that it is particularly adaptable to the so-called permanent well completion technique, a description of which will be found in World *Oil, March 1954. Par- 2,938,584 Patented May 31, 1960 ice ticularly, it is adaptable to dual completions employing the permanent well completion technique. Furthermore, the invention is advantageous in that it eliminates the employment of tubing, such as required in conventionally completed wells. By eliminating tubing, the amount of steel required and capital investment therefor are substantially' reduced. Completion in a plurality of zones and servicing of such operations are relatively simple in accordance with the present invention.

The invention will be further illustrated by reference to the drawing in which:

Fig. 1 shows an arrangement of apparatus in a well bore;

Fig. 2 shows a similar arrangement of apparatus with one of the pipe strings closed ofi by a closure member; and

Fig. 3 illustrates a Well head for the pipe strings 18 and 19.

Referring now to the drawing, numeral 11 designates a well bore drilled from the earths surface to penetrate a plurality of productive earth strata. These earth strata are designated by numerals 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 with. strata 12, 14, and 16 being productive of hydrocarbons,. such as oil, gas, and the like, whereas strata 13 and 15 may be non-productive. Arranged in the well bore 11 and cemented in place by primary cement 17 are parallel. pipe strings 18 and 19 which extend to the wellhead at the earths surface and which are substantially co-extensive and parallel throughout the lengths thereof. The pipe strings 18 and 19. are interconnected intermediate their ends by a connecting means or conduit 20 which provides a fluid passageway 21 between the pipe strings 18 and 19. As shown in the drawing, the pipe strings 18 and 19 have bores free of obstructions and extend to the earths surface 9 and the well head 10.

Each of the pipe strings 18 and 19 is provided with a supporting means 22 and 23 which suitably may be a landing nipple of the type mentioned before.

The landing nipples or supporting means 22 and 23 are suitably arranged above the fluid passageway 21 but, if desired, supporting means may be arranged below the fluid passageway 21.

Arranged below the fluid passageway 21 in each of the pipe strings 18 and 19 are, respectively, track members 24 and 25 which are adapted to have a perforator of the type mentioned before arranged and positioned therein. Suitably, the pipe strings 18 and 19 are shown provided with guide means 26 and 27 which may be of the type described in the Bielstein application mentioned supra. As shown in Fig. 1 and as arranged in pipe string 18, a perforator 28 of the type described provided with a track follower 29, such as described in the Bielstein application supra, is positioned on the track 24, the track follower 29 and perforator 28 being lowered and supported by a wire line 30 connected to the track follower 29 and the gun perforator 28 and extending to the earths surface. I An elongated tubular member 31 may be retrievably arranged in either one of the pipe strings 18 or 19 but, for convenience, is shown arranged in pipe string 19 and supported in landing nipple 23. The retrievable tubular member 31 is suitably provided with a fishing neck 31b for engagement with a fishing tool (not shown) which may be attached to wire line 3%. The elongated tubular means 31 is open on both ends and is provided with spaced apart sealing means 32 and 33 carried by the tubular member 31, such as a sealing means 32, which means '33 also seals from above and below and prevents flow through the passageway 21 from below.

Referring now to Fig. 2, in which identical numerals designate identical. parts it will be seen that the elon; gated tubular member-31a is provided with a single sealring means 32 to sealfrom above and belowand which,

is arranged above the passageway 21 such that flowmay be had from the pipe string 18 downwardly in the pipe string 19 and flow may be had upwardly in the pipe string 19 only through the tubular member 3.1a. It is to be noted further that the pipe string 18 is closed off below the fluid passageway 21 by a closure member which suitably is. a wire line retrievable plug member 34 provided with a fishing neck and head 35, sealing means 36 and 37, and pipe engaging means such as slips 38 for engaging with the inner wall of pipe 18. Suitably, the plug. member may dispense with the strips 38 and be sealingly seated in a landing nipple and the like.

The present invention is susceptible to many modes'of operation. For example, referring again to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the pipe string 19 has been perforated, separately in zone 16 to form perforations 39 in the pipe 19, cement 17 and extending into the zone 16. This suitably may be accomplished by lowering on the track 25 by means of wire line 30 the perforator 28 and operating same to form the perforations 39 prior to placement of the tubular member 31 in the pipe 19 by lowering same on wire line 30. By positioning the tubular member 31 provided with sealing means 32 and 33, as shown in' the pipe 19, flow may be had upwardly through the pipe 19 with the passageway 21 beingclosed, flow being through the tubular member 31. By lowering perforator 28 on the wire line 30 in the pipe 18 and operating same to form separate perforations 40 in zone 14, production of hydrocarbons may be had simultaneously through pipes 18 and 19, as shown. The perforator may also be run in on pipe and the perforations made for a test or it may be suitably suspended in or by a supporting means and operated in any one of a number of wellknown ways.

With respect to the operations in Fig. 2, it may be assumed that production of hydrocarbons from zone 16 through perforations 39 may have become uneconomical due to water and/or gas invasion or other reasons such as depletion and exhaustion and it isdesired to obtain production either from zone 14 or zone'12 as may be desired through the pipe 19. The. tubular member 31 shown in Fig. 1 would then be withdrawn by engaging the upper end thereof with a fishing tool and replacing same with an elongated tubular member31a as shown in Fig. 2 provided with the sealing means 32 The plug member 34 would be run on a wire line into pipe 18 to close ofif flow from below the passageway 21 in pipe 18. Fluid cement would then be deposited down the pipe 19 through the tubular member 31a in the region of the perforations 39 to fill the perforations and form I vertically displaced zones such as have been described plugs or filter cakes, such as 41. As the plugs or filter cake 41 have been formed such as by imposing pressure on the cement 41a in the region of the perforations 39, excess fluid cement 41a would be reversed out of the well by initiating flow down the pipe 18 through the passageway 21 and thence downwardly in the annulus A between the tubular member 31a and the pipe 19 to cause excess fluid cement to flow upwardly through the tubular member 31a and the pipe 19; e V V The cement employed in the practice of the present invention may suitably be any low fluid loss cement such as described in the patent to Salathiel, 2,582,459, issued January 15, 1952, or may suitably be an' oil-emulsion cement or an oil-emulsion cement containing Bentone and the like. Anylowfluid loss cement may suitably be used.

After the zones or horizons in pipe. 18 have been exhausted or depleted as may be. desired, the operations in with respect to pipe 19, may be conducted in pipe 18 or in both pipes 18 and 19 as preferred. Zone 12 is shown perforated to provide perforations 42 for production therefrom. Of course, it is realized that plug 34 would be removed to allow production from the zone 12 or hetz ne i ,7 7

While the inventionhas been illustrated by sealing oif a lower zone or horizon or stratum and proceeding upwardly in the'well' in pipes 18 and 19,*it is possible tq produce initially'from anupper of a plurality of strata and after exhaustion or depletion of the hydrocarbons therefrom to proceed downwardly in the well' to obtain hydrocarbons in pipes18 and 19 from lower productive strata. In other words, the present invention is not to be construed as being limited by the examples but are given by way of illustration and not by way of limitation Other fluids besides fluid cement may be used, in the well for servicing and recompletion operations. For example, it may be desirable to employ acid solutions to react with acid reacting formations, strata and zones or it may be desirable to treat a formation such as by imposing fluid pressure thereon to open up fissures or cracks in the rock formations and the like to increase the permeability thereof. Also the present invention is susceptible to use in well stimulating and secondary recovery operations wherein various fluids such as water, surface active agents, other chemicals and the like, are injected into the well to cause any oil and/or gas to move readily through the rocker sand formation material to the well bore and to be produced either through pipes 18 or 19 or through both. The invention is particularly useful in dual completions where hydrocarbons are produced simultaneously from vertically spaced'apart zones penetrated by the well.

The nature and objects of the present invention having been completely described and illustrated, what we wish to claim as new and useful and to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for completing and servicing a well having a wellhead and penetrating a plurality of vertically spaced-apart productive subsurface earth strata which comprises first and second substantially parallel pipe strings arranged in said Well and extending to the Wellhead, said pipe strings being arranged in side-by-side relationship and coextending in said well and having separate substantially parallel longitudinal axes, said pipe strings each being perforated in one of said vertically spaced-apart strata for production of hydrocarbons simultaneously from said perforated strata, conduit means intermediate the ends of said pipe strings interconnecting said pipe strings and providing a passageway for flow of fluid from one of the pipe strings to the other of the pipe strings, supporting means in at least one of said pipe strings. above said conduit means, a first retrievable open-ended tubular member, sealing means carried by said first retrievable tubular member, a second retrievable. open-ended tubular member, first and second spaced-apart sealing means carried by said second tubular member, said first and second retrievable tubular members being alternately movable through said one pipe string to said supporting means, said first retrievable tubular member being arranged and supported within said one pipe string on the supporting means therein with the sealing means carried by said first retrievable tubular member positioned above the conduit means when flow is from said other pipe string to said one pipe string and thence upwardly through said first retrievable tubular member, said second retrievable tubular member being arranged and sup-: ported within said one pipe string on the supporting means therein with the first and second sealing means carried by said secondretrievable tubular member positioned, respectively, above and below the conduit means; when separate flow is simultaneously through said first andsecond ipe strings, a retrievable plug member in the;

other of the said pipe strings engageable with the wall thereof for closing oif upward flow through said other pipe from below said plug member, said plug member being arranged in said other pipe string below said fluid passageway when said first retrievable tubular member is arranged and supported within said one pipe string on the supporting means therein, said pipe strings each providing a bore free of obstructions when said first and second retrievable tubular members and plug member are retrieved,

2. Apparatusin accordance with claim 1 in which at least one of said pipe strings is provided with means below the interconnection means .for positioning a perforator therein, such that said pipe string may be separately perforated without perforating the other pipe string.

3. Apparatus for completing and servicing a well having a well head and penetrating a plurality of vertically spaced apart productive subsurface earth strata which comprises first and second substantially parallel pipe strings arranged in said well and extending to the well head, said pipe strings being arranged in side by side relationship and coextending in said well and having separate substantially parallel longitudinal axes, said pipe strings each being perforated in one of said vertically spaced apart strata for production of hydrocarbons simultaneously from said perforated strata, conduit means intermediate the ends of said pipe strings interconnecting said pipe strings and providing a passageway for flow of fluid from one of the pipe strings to the other of the pipe strings, supporting means in at least one of said pipe strings above said conduit means, retrievable flow directing means arranged and supported within said one of said pipe strings on the supporting means therein, said flow directing means being movable through said one pipe string to said supporting means, and sealing means carried by said flow directing means adjacent the conduit means, such that the sealing means is positioned above the conduit means when the flow directing means is supported on said supporting means, retrievable closure means in the other of the said pipe strings engageable with the wall thereof below the conduit means for closing off flow through said other pipe string from below said closure means, said closure means being arranged in said other pipe string below said fluid passageway when the flow directing means is supported on said supporting means in said one pipe string whereby flow from said other pipe string proceeds upwardly in said one pipe string through said flow directing means, said pipe strings each providing a bore free of obstructions when said flow directing means is retrieved.

4. Apparatus for completing and servicing a well having a well head and penetrating a-plurality of productive subsurface earth strata which comprises first and second substantially parallel pipe strings arranged in said well and extending to the well head, said pipe strings being arranged in side by side relationship and coextending in said well and having separate substantially parallel longitudinal axes, said pipe strings each being perforated in one of said vertically spaced apart strata for production of hydrocarbons simultaneously from said perforated strata, conduit means intermediate the ends of said pipe strings interconnecting said pipe strings and providing a passageway for flow of fluid from one of the pipe strings to the other of the pipe strings, supporting means in each of said pipe strings above said conduit means, a retrievable elongated tubular member open on both ends supported within one of said pipe strings on the supporting means therein, said elongated tubular member being movable through said one pipe string to said supporting means, spaced apart sealing means on said elongated tubular member arranged on said tubular member adjacent the conduit means such that the sealing means are positioned above and below said fluid passageway when the elongated tubular member is supported on said supporting means whereby said passageway is sealed against flow therethrough and upward flow in said pipe string in which the tubular member is arranged isprevented excepting through said tubular member, said pipe strings each providing a bore free of obstructions when the retrievable tubular member is retrieved.

5. Apparatusfor completing and servicing a well having a wellhead and penetrating a plurality of vertically spaced-apart productive subsurface earth strata which comprises first and second substantially parallel pipe strings arranged in said well and extending to the wellhead, said pipe strings being arranged in side-by-side relationship and coextending in said well and having separate substantially parallel longitudinal axes, said pipe strings each being perforated in one of said vertically spaced-apart strata for production of hydrocarbons simultaneously from said perforated strata, conduit means intermediate the ends of said pipe strings interconnecting said pipe strings and providing a passageway for flow of fluid from one of the pipe strings to the other of the pipe strings, supporting means in at least one of said pipe strings above said conduit means, first retrievable flow directing means, sealing means carried by said first retrievable flow directing means, second retrievable flow directing means, first and second spaced-apart sealing means carried by said second flow directing means, said first and second retrievable flow directing means being alternately movable through said one pipe string to said supporting means, said first retrievable flow directing means being arranged and supported within said one pipe string on the supporting means therein with the sealing means carried by said first retrievable flow directing means positioned above the conduit means when flow is from said other pipe string to said one pipe string and thence upwardly through said first retrievable flow directing means, said second retrievable flow directing means being arranged and supported within said one pipe string on the supporting means therein with the first and second sealing means carried by said second retrievable flow directing means positioned, respectively, above and below the conduit means when separate flow is simultaneously through said first and second pipe strings, retrievable closure means in the other of the said pipe strings engageable with the wall thereof for closing ofi upward flow through said other pipe string from below said closure means, said closure means being arranged in said other pipe string below said fluid passageway when said first retrievable flow directing means is arranged and supported within said one pipe string on the supporting means therein, said pipe strings each providing a bore free of obstructions when said retrievable flow directing means and said closure means are retrieved.

6. A method for completing a well penetrating a plurality of vertically spaced-apart productive subsurface earth strata in which two eccentric parallel coextending pipes are arranged and cemented in said well on separate longitudinal axes, which comprises fluidly interconnecting said pipe strings at a single point intermediate their ends, perforating one of said pipes and penetrating one of said vertically spaced-apart strata below said point of fluid interconnection, supporting a retrievable open-ended tubular member on its upper end in said perforated pipe such that the upper end of the tubular member extends within said perforated pipe above the point of interconnection and the lower end of the tubular member extends within said perforated pipe below the point of interconnection, sealing the space between the tubular member and the wall of said perforated pipe above the point of interconnection, and then simultaneously flowing fluid through said tubular member and said perforated pipe and through the'other of said pipes.

7. A method in accordance with claim 6 in which the fluid comprises cement.

8. A method in accordance with claim 6 in which the fiuid comprises a well servicing fluid.

- 9. A method for completing a well penetrating a'plurality i of vertically spaced-apart productive subsurface earth strata in whichftwoecce'ntfic" parallejhcoextending pipes are arranged and cementedin' said well oii separate longitudinal axes, which-comprises fluidly interconnecting said pipes at a single point intermediate their ends, separately perforating both of said pipes and separately penetrating two of said. vertically spaced-apart strata below s'aid'point of fluid interconnection, supporting a retrievable open-ended tubular member on-its upper end in one of said perforated pipes such that the ripper end of the tubular member extends within said one perforated pipe above the point of interconnection and the lower end of the tubular member extends within said one perforated pipe below the point of interconnection, sealing the space between the tubular member-and the wall 0f 8 7 said one perforated t ipe above and below the point of interconnection, {and simultaneously flowinghydrocarbons ilpwardiy through both-of saidipe'rforated'pipesfrom Said perforated"strata..

i References Cited in thefile'of this'patent;

V, UNTTED'STATES PATENTS 2,335,355 Vi Penick et a1; NOV. 30, 1943 2,698,582 Vincent Jam "4,1955 2,725,107 Abendroth et a1. N0v.729, 1955 2,745,497 I Dale et "a1. May 15, 1956 "2,749,939 Huber 'June 12,'1956 2,767,792 Spear-ow Oct. 23, 1956 1,785,754 True Mai. 19, 1957 Fredd July 9, .1957 

